J.Crew is dabbling in the luxury market with it’s newest project with Globe-Trotter luggage.  The six piece collection of hand-crafted luggage, made in Britain, features black and tan leather with gold hardware.  The pieces evoke the old glamour of travel, before air travel was popular.  The classic lines and color of this luggage is pulling at my heart strings.  I want the whole collection.  The luggage is a bit pricey, but think of them as investment pieces - you’ll have some of the best made luggage in the world, and you’ll be travelling in high style.  The collection is limited and can be purchased online here.

Source

Samsonite Black Label and Alexander McQueen joined forces a while back to create a limited-edition collection of luggage.  The pieces were incredible and featured black and white suitcases with either an enlarged croc-like pattern embossed on the leather or a faux-spinal column protruding from the front - very avant garde (or scary)!  The collaboration was such a success that the pair are releasing a silver luggage collection for Fall.  ”Created with Bayer, one of the world’s largest producers of polymers and high-performance plastics, the bags’ shiny silver coating feature a special UV resistant mirror paint that won’t crack or scratch. ”  The luggage will be available for sale beginning in September and retails from $800 to $2500.  With that price tag, it’s truly for the “jet set.”
 

Image & Info:  WWD

So you just got the cutest new belly ring. Or maybe you’ve had other more private areas pierced. Whether you just had your piercing done or have had it for years, the metal jewelry you take for granted in your day to day comings and goings could be a security hassle at the airport.

Up until now, proper TSA procedure would require that you remove any jewelry that sets off the metal detectors, probably resulting in you having to get back in line and go through security again. This can be a real bugger if your body jewelry is not meant to come out easily; you could risk damaging yourself or your expensive body jewelry if you’re in a rush to get back through the security lines and off to your flight.

Very recently, TSA has changed its procedure to allow passengers to request a visual inspection instead of removing the jewelry, but hey! Who wants some security agent poking and prodding your piercings, right? Here are a few ideas to help you avoid this embarrassing scene at the airport:

1.  Take your jewelry out before you get to security. Unless the piercing is brand new, it should be fine for most piercings to take out the jewelry for an hour or so while you check in and get through security. Place it in a clean contact lens case, cover with sterile saline, and pack it in your quart-sized liquids bag to present to security. When you’re through security, find a bathroom and replace the jewelry. No harm, no foul.

2.  Make sure you wear body jewelry that is easy to get on and off. If you fly a lot, you definitely need to make sure that you can remove your body jewelry yourself. If you need to have a piercer remove it, you probably shouldn’t wear it while flying.

3.  Carry extra components. If you wear rings with capture beads or removable segments, have an extra bead or segment or two in your bag in case one does a runner while you’re taking off or putting in your jewelry. If you wear jewelry with external thread closures, or with internal thread closures…well, same thing. Have an extra closure or two available in case you lose one.

4.  Try wearing jewelry with plastic or acrylic posts. There are tons of bars and rings available now in plastic and acrylic, materials which won’t set off the security devices at the airport. Consider investing in a few pieces for travel. Just make sure you don’t have allergies to the plastic or acrylic. Some jewelry styles even come in wood or other organic materials. You might just find them more comfortable than metal!

5.  Consider a retainer for travel. Retainers aren’t just for facial piercings anymore. Consider wearing a plain retainer for travel.

6.  The one type of body jewelry you should NEVER wear while traveling? Seamless rings. These require pliers to put on or take off, so traveling with them is totally inconvenient and potentially dangerous.

Whatever type of body jewelry you choose - from earrings to nose rings to nipple rings and beyond - just make sure you understand the potential for air travel security delays and then adjust your jewelry accordingly.

Happy Travels!

If you’re tired of your day job, the 9-to-5, the drudgery of staring at a computer screen all day and getting up occasionally to make copies then you may want to check out this amazing job opportunity at 55DSL. You have the chance to enter for a position where 55DSL will pay your travel expenses around the world!! Here’s how they describe the position:

55DSL is now searching for bright, young and gifted individuals to come work in our Kick Ass Department. This is not a joke, it’s not a competition and it’s certainly not a gimmick. 55DSL needs people to roam the earth and find all that is good and pure and kick ass. Their job will be to film, photograph, and blog, everything they find so the whole world can see just how amazing it all is.

At 55DSL, when we tell you to live a least 55 seconds per day, we mean it.

You can apply online at www.55DSL.COM. They know your job sucks. Make a change and see the world with 55DSL. Best of luck!!

I had heard about JetBlue’s Beta Blue aircraft last month while flying out to NYC. Only one plane, called the BetaBlue aircraft, has the Wi-Fi capabilities to access the Internet in the sky. Can you imagine how much work or web-surfing you could get done cruising 10,000 feet in the sky!! On my most recent trip to NY I had the chance to fly on the BetaBlue plane and use the service. It was great to knock out a few emails before I fell asleep. This is a free service provided by JetBlue and LiveTV™, Yahoo!®, and BlackBerry®. JetBlue is the first domestic airline to offer this kind of connectivity to its customers, free of charge.

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It’s pretty a pretty sure bet that you’ll need a passport when you’re traveling by air across an ocean to another continent - North America to Europe, for instance, or Australia to Africa. But what if you’re traveling right across the U.S. border into Canada, or into Mexico? What if you’re driving your own car there? And what’s the protocol if you’re traveling by sea?

These are times when border procedures can get a little vague. Here are a few guidelines to help you out if you’re traveling from the U.S. into one of it’s bordering countries or nearby islands.

Mexico

Air - All travelers are required to present a passport. Period.

Passport Cover by Maharishi, GBP 60

Sea - Currently no passport is needed to cross into Mexico from the U.S. by sea (cruise ship or boat). However, by June 2009 all seagoing passengers coming back IN to the U.S. will be required to present a passport. It is assumed that the passport will be checked before departing for Mexico as well.

Land - Currently, no passport is needed to cross into Mexico from the U.S. by land (car, bus, other vehicle). However, proof of citizenship is required at checkpoints (birth certificate, driver’s license). By June 2009 all visitors will be required to present a passport when returning to the U.S. from Mexico, so you will need one before crossing into Mexico.

The full story and more passport cover options after the jump . . .

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If you’re anything like me, you love to travel with your chick-tech but hate the fact that it can take up so much room. No problem. There are tons of techie gadgets out there to help you make that on-the-road experience feel just a little more like home. Here are a few of my staples, all easily packable in your favorite carry on bag.

Music and More
In the 50s, traveling meant that no lady would feel complete without a practical pair of gloves. It’s a new century, baby, and now where would a lady be without her tunes? And movies, and podcasts, and audiobooks,and games … so many choices! Thanks to microtechnology, it’s all available at your oh-so-ungloved fingertips. Staples of my personal travel entertainment kit? iPod (with padded black leather cover - I’m rough on my toys), earbuds, firewire, AC charger and speakers, all of which can fit neatly in their own quart-sized ziplock bag.

Read the full story after the jump . . .
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